ON THE FARM IN JUNE
June 10, 2021
This month we’ve finally seen the sun, and what lovely weather we have had here in Yorkshire so far! but what’s been happening on the farm?
Here on Fossfield Farm, it continues to be busy in ice cream production thanks to the beautiful sunshine and bank holidays!
On the farm, we are continuing to plan ahead and make sure we grow enough food for the girls throughout Winter. Along with the everyday jobs such as caring for our cows and calves, milking twice a day and any odd maintenance job’s we also see:
- Silaging. The weather has finally turned for us, meaning we were able to cut the grass! We use contractors to come and mow the grass, row it up and a forager to move it from the field into the trailer, then the trailer is emptied into the large silage clamp. Once the field has been cleared and all the grass is in the clamp there’s a large black sheet placed over it and this allows the fermentation process to start which preserves this lush Yorkshire grass for feed in the winter. This year we didn’t start silaging until 3rd June, making it the latest silaging we’ve had! Sadly, the long winter of dry weather and plenty of frosts, followed by an unusually large amount of rainfall meant the fields were just too wet to take any large machinery near. However, now the fields have had plenty to drink, and the sunshine is out, the grass is growing well again! We hope to take our second cut of grass next month, providing the weather keeps being good to us – keep your fingers crossed!
- Calving. This month, we have only had one calf, a gorgeous little girl who will eventually join the herd when she’s older and contribute to producing delicious Yorvale ice cream and Yorlife kefir.
Stay tuned for more farm antics on our social media!